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We're starting this thread so that folks can comment on the following news item posted on POZ.com:

January 31, 2007

Is the AIDS Quilt Obsolete?

The New York Times today examines a legal battle over who will house 6,000 squares of the historic AIDS quilt. Activists are debating the relevance of the quilt and other memorials of the earlier epidemic considering the changing face of HIV and a range of new and different problems. So what do folks think about this?

I saw the AIDS Memorial Quilt in 1996, the last time it was last displayed in its entirety.

That was in Washington, DC, on the Mall between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial.

It was enormous, even then. Now, my understanding is it is even larger. Perhaps that is the problem. it is too large to be displayed now.

I remember people making panels for those they had lost. I helped with some of them. They were a way to remember our losses at a time when there were few ways to express how we felt.

When I walked down the rows of panels in 1996, I recall seeing many names I remembered. It allowed me to reconnect with many who were now gone. This was important because there had been so many who died in such a relatively brief period of time, we never really had a chance to grieve.

Does the quilt mean anything to the Gen X, Gen Y and whatever came after Y, who are now turning up positive?

Will it mean anything to their loved ones when some of them die?

Perhaps it is a relic of a bygone era, when people clung together out of desperation and created the memorial both for those who had died and for those who remained but who were often denied the right to grieve.

LIFE is not a race to the grave with the intention of arriving safelyin a pretty and well-preserved body, but, rather to skid in broadside,thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming--WOW! WHAT ARIDE!!!

I watched a film a few months back, Remembering Stonewall, which chronicles the gay rights movement from the late 1960's onward. Although I have never seen the quilt personally, seeing it on film brought a tear to my eye and a lump to my throat. The quilt is a powerful symbol - of loss, of healing, of significance. It's size increase merely signifies, to me, the important volume of the issues we still face. How could it be any less relevant today than when it was first created? I would like to think that even when a cure is found, the quilt will continue to be significant in our history, moreover as a result of the social impact of AIDS than of our sexual orientation.

I read the article. In the New York Times article, Michael Petrelis, an aids activist, comments that "...The quilt was very effective in the late ’80s and early ’90s for AIDS awareness...On the other hand, there’s hundreds and thousands of people that need a housing subsidy, just trying to keep a roof over their head. Should we be putting our time and money into another vigil? I don’t know.”Does it still hold as one of the most powerful weapon we have for AIDS awareness? Mr. Petrelis makes a valid argument however when one has a physical viewing of the enormity of the quilt the experience conveyed is unmatched by any ads or modern media tools. We have our Sacred Cows.....like Stonewall.....and this is another, MHO.

"Does it still hold as one of the most powerful weapon we have for AIDS awareness? Mr. Petrelis makes a valid argument however when one has a physical viewing of the enormity of the quilt the experience conveyed is unmatched by any ads or modern media tools. We have our Sacred Cows.....like Stonewall.....and this is another, MHO." Quote mjmel.............................This is probably the heart of the issue in my mind. It is not something to be dismissed like dirty laundry. Smithsonian....fine. Another viewing or smaller ( panels) viewings all over the country....good awareness raising tool.Money? Well, if it helps raise awareness then its worth it. But it wont raise awareness by sitting on a shelf somewhere.

I agree Bear,It does no good sitting in a warehouse. As a member of the Northwest New Mexico HIV/AIDS Consortium, we were going to bring a section to the Four Corners as part of World AIDS Day a number of years ago.

The consortium is a small, grass-roots, all-volunteer organization on a shoestring budget. What we found was, to pay to ship a section of the quilt and provide the security required by the quilt organization, we could not afford to bring it here. The cost was thousands of dollars.

To stand in the center of the quilt was a feeling I will never forget and can't describe.

Unfortunately, that isn't possible today. I think maybe the Smithsonian is the best idea. At least there it would be preserved and, as you said, not be tossed out like dirty laundry.

Lot's of thoughts on this. First, is it ever acceptable to spend money on art, on supporting the arts when people lack housing and healthcare? The Gates foundation has made it clear what their feelings are. Housing Works or the quilt? So that's one large question to deal with. Second, must the entire quilt, all its panels, be displayed or is it acceptable to display only parts. Remember, each panel is connected to a person, so by making this decision, it also means connecting with only some of the people. Third, the Smithsonian is not an answer. Funding is just not there. If we need a place to preserve the quilt, it needs its own endowment to guarantee that it will be protected over time. (Remember the flag issue and Ralph Lauren stepping in to preserve it?) It's a national treasure which needs support. Fourth, like certain books, it could be 'displayed online' and preserved safely away from hands, hand oils, and hanging (thinking of the Metropollitan and its tapestries) but for any of us who have seen it in person, that's the power, standing in front of a panel, not scrolling online. Fifth, I have said in other threads that I would love to see here a place for verbal remembrances as we sometimes see at the bottom of poster's pages. Not everyone may have a panel, but everyone can be remembered, anonymously or publicly, with verbal recollection. Win

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Winthrop Smith has published three collections of poetry: Ghetto: From The First Five; The Weigh-In: Collected Poems; Skin Check: New York Poems. The last was published in December 2006. He has a work-in-progress underway titled Starting Positions.

"Does it still hold as one of the most powerful weapon we have for AIDS awareness? Mr. Petrelis makes a valid argument however when one has a physical viewing of the enormity of the quilt the experience conveyed is unmatched by any ads or modern media tools. We have our Sacred Cows.....like Stonewall.....and this is another, MHO." Quote mjmel.............................This is probably the heart of the issue in my mind. It is not something to be dismissed like dirty laundry. Smithsonian....fine. Another viewing or smaller ( panels) viewings all over the country....good awareness raising tool.Money? Well, if it helps raise awareness then its worth it. But it wont raise awareness by sitting on a shelf somewhere.

I don't think the Aids Quilt is at all obsolete. I think they need to drag it back out and throw it on the front lawn of the Godamn Whitehouse until our government and politicians aknowledge the US has an epedemic going on and history is repeating itself. I've never had the opportunity to see the quilt or even sections of it. I don't think it should be archieved like some old news clippings.

There are some virtual Aids Quilts being started online, but they don't have the impact the actual quilt has. I think they are a good idea as well, but I'd be for taking huge sections and placing them at every state capital building on the same day for making the biggest bang for the buck. Mabye we should have US AIDS Awareness day since there doesn't seem to be any here. I was personally dismayed and underwhelmed at the pitiful lack of media coverage in the US on World Aids Day.

For me the Quilt holds great emotional and social significance. To me, declaring it obsolete would be like declaring Rosa Parks obsolete. This isn't the best analogy but it's the first to come to mind.

The Quilt should be maintained just as the National Holocaust Museum should be maintained, as a permanent reminder of a darker episode of history. When there was no research or healthcare for AIDS and most obituaries made vague references about one's cause of death each panel on the Quilt gave a "face" to the epidemic. Every person I've ever talked to who viewed it has been stunned by the Quilt's overwhelming presence.

I see a valid question as far as money spent on the Quilt could be used for more tangible benefits but doubt the money being used is really so much it would make a big difference.

I guess I'm getting old and set in my ways. Wait, I've always been set in my ways so I'm just getting old.

Boo

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String up every aristocrat!Out with the priests and let them live on their fat!

When I first read the question I thought to myself, "What is this guy, crazy?" How could the AIDS Memorial Quilt be considered obsolete? To me that's like saying the Declaration of Independence is obsolete just because no one reads it every day. Admittedly it stoked feelings of passion in me. After all I was one of the people who first acted as a Quilt Monitor during it's initial showing on the Mall in Washington, D.C. I helped coordinate a smaller scale showing at my own University a couple of years after that and I've volunteered during subsequent showings at various locales in some capacity or another on many occasions. "Bought the t-shirt even!" as they say.

The question even needled me to go to my trusty Dictionary.com link to make sure that I fully understood the word.

If we look at the strictest definition of that word then yes, it does appear that the Quilt has indeed become obsolete when you consider that the word as defined means the following, *

no longer in general use; fallen into disuse: an obsolete expression.

of a discarded or outmoded type; out of date: an obsolete battleship.

(of a linguistic form) no longer in use, esp., out of use for at least the past century. Compare archaic.

effaced by wearing down or away.

Biology. imperfectly developed or rudimentary in comparison with the corresponding character in other individuals, as of the opposite sex or of a related species.

Even by definition of the American Heritage Dictionary the Quilt is obsolete.

However, I think that we need to ask different questions of ourselves to really understand if indeed the Quilt can be defined as such.

Maybe the quilt isn't obsolete. Maybe we just don't know how to make it seem as relevant as it was initially.

~ The Quilt is maintained and displayed by The NAMES Project Foundation and was started in 1987 in San Francisco by Cleve Jones and a group of volunteers. At the time of its creation, most people who died of AIDS-related causes did not receive funerals and their remains were in fact refused by many funeral homes and cemeteries. Lacking a memorial service or grave site, The Quilt was often the only opportunity survivors had to remember and celebrate their loved ones' lives. The Quilt was last displayed in full on The Mall in Washington, D.C., in 1996.

It helped inspire a number of people (yours truly included) into action on LGBT and HIV/AIDS related issues.

Seeing the enormity of the quilt and of the sheer number of lives already lost was nothing less than a call to action for those of us dealing with the sorrow, fear, anger and frustration that were in so many of us at the time. We had seen our friends, our relatives and our heros dead or dying for years, because the Reagan administration, who had come to power refused to even acknowledge it's existence. HAART was not even a blip on the horizon though we had begun initial testing of the use of AZT. People still generally defined this as a "Gay" disease even though it had long since dropped the GRID moniker. AIDS and HIV in so very many ways was still being viewed primarily in the context of the numbers people were using in their statistics.

The Quilt truly did put put a face, a name, to this disease. It inspired passion in the masses to finally do something. It allowed us to sob and scream uncontrollably about the injustice of times. It forced us to yell out, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not gonna take it anymore!".

Even with HAART, people are still dying in large numbers. The medical industry continues to withold therapies to the poor and disenfranchised and an executive branch of our Government still at best pays lip service to AIDS/HIV while attempting to extort more and more from our masses in an effort to finance a petroleum war.

I believe that regardless of it's size, in fact especially because of it's size, the AIDS Memorial Quilt now more than ever needs to be used to refocus our aim to stop this disease. Somehow HAART has dumbed us down and made us become complacent about the injustices that are facing us all.

Ask yourself this, "Are people with HIV or AIDS obsolete? Is the search for a cure?"

Ask yourself this, "Are people with HIV or AIDS obsolete? Is the search for a cure?"

Instead of asking us I wish we could see a national (or international if broken down geographically) poll asking the "typical citizen" the same questions. Especially in a world where euthanasia candidates like Peter Duesberg persist, even in 2007, in claiming HIV is a myth. Particularly in a country whose national media declared AIDS cured in the 90s and people even now believe them.

HIV/AIDS has fallen out of the USA's national spotlight even as it has risen internationally. What should have been realized 25 years ago is now being acted on, at a much higher cost, at a scale that begins to show some promise for global access to care/meds for those still alive in third world and other poorer countries (or anomalies like the USA where you live or die based on personal income). Very small steps are being taken globally but at least they're in the right direction for the first time... or I may be too optimistic.

Boo, who apologizes for my obvious graphomania episode with this thread.

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String up every aristocrat!Out with the priests and let them live on their fat!

I wish the Quilt could be displayed in its entirety once again. It is so powerful, there are no words to describe it. When you are standing on it, and you can see more and more and more panels, as far as the eye can see.....

I wish everyone with HIV could have the opportunity to see the Quilt. It might make us all more appreciative of how many lives were lost along the journey to where we are today.

Alan

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"Remember my sentimental friend that a heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others." - The Wizard of Oz

I was able to visit a display of the quilt at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena.I believe it was 1995, and only 1/4 or 1/3 of the quilt was displayed because that's all that would fit.It was one of the most powerful things I've ever seen, and I think it's message is far from obsolete.I attended with my best friend Ronnie, who was very sick at the time, and passed away the following January.He's on block #04567 (white panel, 2nd from the bottom on the right).

I don't know the answer, but it's a pity that they are bickering over it.It should be considered a national treasure and looked after accordingly.It's the largest single memorial work in the world.

The Australian AIDS Quilt is the second largest, with 118 blocks (up to 8 or so quilts per block) at present. I'm not sure it is all kept in the one location, but you can at least access it all online at: http://www.aidsquilt.org.au/home.php. Each panel is scanned in for viewing. Can you access the US Quilt online?

Once the quilt became tied to costs, the bickering would, unfortunately, start. PWAC had an original policy that it would never invest in bricks because to spend money on bricks, on a building, would infer that AIDS would always be here. For a time, money only went into programs and publications. Then a group came along and wanted a building. To get money you end up, usually, paying for a development person and mailings, which takes away from money for programs and publications. The bickering began and, soon afterwards, the end of PWAC. It's the same circle that the quilt, needing money to be stored/preserved, needing money to be sent on tour, needing money to get money is in. Win

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Winthrop Smith has published three collections of poetry: Ghetto: From The First Five; The Weigh-In: Collected Poems; Skin Check: New York Poems. The last was published in December 2006. He has a work-in-progress underway titled Starting Positions.

I think the quilt is very important to us and to everyone else. I feel if we could find a place like in the midwest where they could lay it completely out say maybe a farm with a field not being used or something to that affect. Let the country see just how many people we have lost and show this generation just how bad it still is would help some of the people in this country to stop and think and maybe just maybe use condoms. I think it would shock a lot of people to see how many panels there are and mabye they would realize that we need more people stepping up and helping with finding a cure and stopping others getting this bug.

This is just my opion but i think showing the quilt in whole would wake some people up.

There are some panels on the Quilt that are simply astounding. You cannot imagine the creativity that was used in coming up with some of the panels.I remember one that impressed me a lot....this guy had been some sort of business executive, and his friends had used all of his beautiful ties to make his panel.

I used to joke and say I expected mine to be mink. Now, I think I've changed my tune....burlap would be more appropriate -- tough, durable, and long lasting. That's me.

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"Remember my sentimental friend that a heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others." - The Wizard of Oz

The quilt is one of the most important reminders not only to me being poz for many years, but a lesson to the future - the kids who don't know the past since it is not taught except by people such as ourselves.

I remember the first time I saw some panels displayed in Atlanta in the early '90's. I still have video footage and I was crying and holding my partner. The experience was very emotional and thinking about it makes me emotional.

Both my partner and I started thinking what we would like our small place on the quilt to say and have our families and friends remember who we aspired to be. I am thankful that we have not had to add to the quilt.

That being said, I strongly believe in the message and remembrance of a fight for life and the respect for my friends who have since passed. It should never be put away and should be displayed proudly whenever possible. Writing this brings me to tears and memories, I have stuffed away in my heart.

I remember the first time I ever saw the quilt... it was at AIDS Walk Atlanta in the mid 1990's. The experience was remarkable and each time I see the quilt, I have an strong emotional reaction.

It has been my experience that complacency has become one of the greatest obstacles in outreach and prevention. The quilt is a tangible display of the effects of this terrible pandemic. Many folks need this visual reminder of the battles they never fought or experienced firsthand.

No the quilt is not obsolete. I just added a panel to it last year, so it is still being added to, though I believe at a slower number than in the past.

I think that it ought to be protected as a National Treasure like a parkland or a historic building. Getting the current administartion to agree to that would not be likely, of course, but definitely something to think about.

It is one of the few pieces of our history that everyone recognizes and therefore needs to be protected for all future Americans to see.

Sitting gathering dust in an Atlanta storage facility... YES... It is obsolete in the current manner and state that the Names Project organization sits in. It is about time folks started asking more about this issue and why NO ONE seems to care about HIV care or prevention anymore these days.

Is the existence of the concentration camps from World War II obselete?

I consider that a rhetorical question.

The same about the Quilt. The Quilt grew out of a time that is hard to bring to life today to those whether HIV+ or not, who are living in a very different HIV world than it was the 1980s and early 90s. That's when my mornings began everyday with reading the obituary section in the NY Times to see who I knew was in it. And those whom I didn't know for whom "no cause of death was given" or other explanations which avoided the use of the word AIDS.

I don't see how anyone who has ever seen the Quilt either in sections or in its entirety when that was still possible could fail to be moved by what those panels say and represent.

Recently on World AIDS Day I saw sections of the panel at a college in Pennsylvania where I was speaking. The panel which especially touched me that day was the one that said "This is a panel for all of those who are gone who had no one to make a panel for them."

The AIDS crisis is not over and until the day that happens the Quilt will always be powerful and relevant. It speaks not only to loss and mourning, but also to the murderous neglect by our government and so many others.

I believe the Quiltis part of our gay heritage, and should be treated as many of the countries other treasures are. I feel that with the support of those who have power and the funds in the entertainment industry, not to mention our dear friends, Rosie, Ellen, and Oprah. We have many friends, and it is time to call on them to help us place this magnificent piece of art and history in a place that all people can appreciate and respect it. I myself would be thrilled to be able to go to a certain place, and take in all of it's meaning and tribute. it honors all of those who have gone before us, and without them, who knows where we might be today.Just let them tell me where it is going to be displayed and I will be there. Yes, I would even pay to see it.Gordonh28

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Gordonh28 ( Al )

I have been in St Pete, Fl. for 9 years.Moved here from Miami, I lived there for 12 years. (Diagnosed in 1995)

I worked with my brother in 1992, when it was on display. My brother and I volunteered and drove in from Louisville, Ky for the week. In 1996 my brother was a panel on the quilt. Also in 1996 I worked again for it, now I was positive and my wife was just out of the nursing home, suffering from AIDS dementia. We both worked for the names project in 1996, my sister was also there and she is interviewed on the 1996 video. Now my wife is gone and I just got done hiring some one to make her panel. So I think it will never be obsolete, unless we have a cure. There should be a way to display the quilt again. The large scale of the quilt is only a small portion of the lives that have been lost in this battle. No way should we stop showing it, nor should it be put in storage. The quilt is and remains a very visible education tool for our battle that we should continue to use it that way. I am now and remain a big fan of the quilt. Thank you for listening to me. Mike.

The quilt will never be obsolete, nor irrelevant, because it belongs to no one person, but an entire generation that was left to die because of government indifference. Each panel represents a thread that entwines with all the people that were special in that persons life. There are so many panels (many never submitted) that the connection with all of us from those days and those who came after is undeniable. The quilt represents defiance in the face of apathy that a world had for HIV in the 80s and early 90s.

Nobody will ever "own" the quilt as it courses through each one of us. It is time for the HIV community to stand its ground and demand that our treasures are just as important as other monumental efforts. Tens of thousands of Americans have died of AIDS and every panel in that quilt, if it represents one of us, then it represents all of us.

We have a duty and obligation to retain the quilt so future generations will understand the true horrors of the time that birthed it. Nothing about the history of HIV in America is irrelevant, because you know what they say about ignoring the lessons of history. Hopefully, as a nation, we have learned that each segment of society is free to express itself. We chose to do it with a quilt and as such, it is now a national treasure and should be treated as such... forever.

I think it is important to not only discuss it here but send this to our senators and congressmen and allow this to create a new spirit of rememberance that will affect the media enough to bring real hope. Having learned I was HIV+ on June 26,1984 and participating in my quilts in Fort lauderdale it would be a shame to loose the Artwork of our resent past (just as Quilting holds great value long after the creator passes so will this) 100 years ago every young girl learned to express themselves in this art form and it now hold great value. The Smithsonian is the best place for the panels to end up. Maybe by doing a new major showing and getting elementary,middle,high school and colledge student in from of this as a whole will change the future not only of new infections but the social consciousness or them and their parents and Grandparents. Then sore it in the Smithsonian for 10 years and if we are still in the same mess bring it out again Next year we elect new political leaders. Let's change to focus to People and from a war! Imagine if they found the $12 billion in cash or it was paid back by Iraq 20% of that money would have a huge impact on the HIV+ community at large!

Is the Aids quilt obosolete?Absolutely! Let's burn it. Those panels don't matter to anyone. And while we're at it, let's tear down the Vietnam Memorial and raze Forest Lawn Cemetery and build high rise office towers over the graves! Christ, what a f**ked up question.

Yes, SW, I know there is animosity with the quilt being housed in Atlanta, but this is not about location, it is about the quilt. I could care less where it is stored as long as it is protected since it is "the" memorial of all who have passed and we ALL have an interest in keeping it alive and intact.

If the quilt was moved to SF from Atlanta, I hope we take some time out to view it, if one wishes, during the AMG '07 gathering.

No, The AIDS Memorial Quilt will never be obsolete. It is a tribute to all of our brothers and sisters who have died or been affected by this plague. It is one of the most powerful, moving and thought provoking symbol of courageous lives that have been lost to us. I saw the Quilt many times. I have helped carry panels out onto the baseball field when the SF Giants would use the quilt at "Until There's A Cure Day" unfortunately this ritual has been discontinued since the quilt has moved to Atlanta. The quilt should be brought home to the place of it's birth San Francisco and another large display like the one in Washington DC years ago should be organized, perhaps in a different location.

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Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look there. -- Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

I am new to this site, and new to this life - having been diagnosed in April of last year, but had to reply to this question. The answer is absolutely not.

As the pandemic continue to claims lives, both here and abroad, the significance of the quilt grows. It grows not only in size (a sad reflection of the current situation regarding a cure), but more importantly, its significance grows as a message - a message of hope that one day there will be a world without AIDS.

Yes, one day, hopefully, the AIDS crisis will be over. And when it is, we will have this quilt to remind us that once there was a group of people who died so others might live. (if I can be so bold as to paraphrase a statement made by Vito Russso in 1988)

It is a symbol of grief, a symbol of celebration of those that have gone ahead before us to light the way, a remembrance of their lives, and a statement that they did not die in vain!

I have a view on the Poll about whether or not the AIDS Quilt is obsolete or not. I don’t believe it is. I’m only 30 years old, but I remember a lot. I remember what is now called HIV+ being called GRID, then AIDS. I remember when President Reagan finally admitted to the problem at hand and I was in fifth or sixth grade when we first learned what AIDS was in my public middle school. I remember Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign with those green pins. I remember seeing the AIDS Quilt once on the news while I was in school. I remember seeing years later in 1996 the showing of the AIDS Quilt on the National Mall from watching the national news. It brought tears to my eyes back then when I was only 20 and about to enter the Army. When I read the one comment on here that had the link to the youtube.com link of the just the first part of that showing… I could not hold back the tears. I thank god it only lasted 18 minutes. I totally fell apart and went through countless tissues, and it is NOT just because I am HIV+ now. I could not bring myself to watch the other portions of the video from that day’s showing of the Quilt. If you notice…the word “I” is at the beginning of almost all of my sentences….I’M trying to make everyone of every generation realize how hard of a impact that the AIDS Quilt had on me personally. I’ve lost a good friend because of HIV/AIDS and I’m working on a panel to add in his memory. Then I buried his brother also who was not only my true best friend, but also my Life Partner, to a heart attack in April 2006. So yes I’ve been touched by this epidemic also and we should not start comparing who has lost the greatest amount of friends/lovers. That does not matter. We’re all in this together. Now let’s move forward and work together to get the government in-line and provide care to everyone, no matter the location, race, etc. There are groups out there that are not being provided the proper care/funding….that needs to change. It needs to change but not at the expense of those that are already receiving care and can’t afford to not continue receiving it….we need our government to ADD FUNDS so that all that need it can get it. SOOOOO, let’s all work together and decide how to best use our Quilt!

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We should all be working together to make activism our first tool, and our first line of OFFENSE not Defense!!! :-)

While the Memorial quilt is not obsolete, I do think of a more permanent nature should be considered for our fallen brothers and sisters.

As an artist struggling with this for 14 years, I have thought about this often. If there are any artist and philanthropist that would consider collaboration of such an an daunting task, Please feel free to contact me!

I have been thinking of something along the nature of the Viet Nam War Veterans Memorial, but of course, not a huge wall...... would be interesting to see what others think on this matter.

jsherman...i don't see a memorial happening and can't see a "wall" happening PERIOD even for the 10's of thousands that lost their lives in the very beginning. I'd agree that maybe a obelisk or other single memorial might happen....but for now, our memorial is in our hearts. We all need to start working together and make activism our first tool again, like our "AIDS forefathers" taught us. NOW, we just have to decide HOW to do that.

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We should all be working together to make activism our first tool, and our first line of OFFENSE not Defense!!! :-)